


The Sun in Her Sky, the Fire in His Heart

by Felonious



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Canon, Sunburn, Sunburn Cult Offering, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29671032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felonious/pseuds/Felonious
Summary: Two years have passed since that fateful day Sunny revealed to his friends the truth behind Mari's death. The day is long past but the scars from it are as fresh as ever. Sunny and Aubrey continue to adapt to the city life along with the personal challenges they both face. Sunny now lives life with one eye and a stunted understanding of social norms. Aubrey wrestles with her unsaid feelings and brash attitude. Together they make quite the dysfunctional pair of misfits, but together they make it work.
Relationships: Aubrey/Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 131





	1. By Your Side

**Author's Note:**

> Omori post-good ending. Sunburn story 2 years into the future where Aubrey has moved in with Sunny and his mom because all the adults in Faraway are incapable of handling their children.  
> Long ass lines ------- indicated a change in POV/jump in time.

Something was back.

White Space was back.

And Sunny was Terrified.

The infinite white room around him made the darkness of Something stand out as once again it waited there unmoving… just staring at him. Suddenly he feels something on his shoulder, a hand. Looking back towards it he was met with a very familiar face he had wished to never see again. His alter ego Omori looked into his eye with his own blank expression and that all too familiar steak knife in hand. Soon the knife was in the middle of being thrust into Sunny’s left eye, but it never made contact.

Sunny awoke with a gasp and shot up from his pillow, his heavy breathing and panting being only sounds in the room. His heart was pounding as he tried to regain his composure from the nightmare. He looked at the clock on his nightstand to the left of him. It read 4:29AM. Still trying to recover he looked to the right where he saw a familiar face with pink hair sleeping soundly on a futon. The sight of Aubrey was enough to get him to start calming down.

‘It’s fine, everything is going to be okay. As long as she’s here it will all be okay…’ This thought rang out in his head for a couple of minutes as he just stared at her. Eventually he fell back onto his pillow, the panic subsiding and his heartrate becoming steady once more. Sunny then lifted his hand to his right eye, or rather where it should have been. It had been two years since that day, a day he knew could have gone much worse for him and his best friend Basil if he let their guilt and fear overtake them completely. 

Life certainly wasn’t any easier after that. He recalls the conversation in the hospital constantly. The expressions on the faces of his friends burned into his mind forever. Hero’s pain and rage, Kel’s shock and horror, Basil’s guilt and anxiety. Reliving the memory yet another time was difficult but there was one thing that made it bearable. The look that was on Aubrey’s face. She did not seem shocked like Kel, furious like Hero or even in pain like Basil. She looked understanding, as if she could feel his emotions right then and there. Maybe she had learned the acceptance like he had.

Coming back to the present, Sunny looked back at the clock. It now read 4:51AM. He then took another peak at Aubrey. He always loved her sleeping face, how serene it was to her usual aggressive front. Her breaths were slow and steady as she remained unaware of the waking world around her. It relaxed him greatly to know that he wasn’t alone anymore. Exhaustion quickly caught up with him as he fell back asleep, his dreams now filled with the girl he had come to rely on rather than his haunting past.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunlight broke through the curtains and as usual Aubrey was the one to wake up first. Rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes she turned towards he who had become her savior. It had been a little over a year since she moved in with him. She recalls the speech she gave on her knees that cold and rainy night to Sunny’s mom. His mom was not a cruel person by any means but she had to think realistically of how she would be able to support the three of them. But then came Sunny, with his heart of gold. He declared he would look for a part time job while in school to help support the extra member and was nearly on his knees as well. Eventually his mom gave in after enough pressure and now here they are one year later.

Everyone in Faraway had known of the situation in Aubrey’s house but were useless in doing anything about it. The failure of the adults in the town was a common trend that nobody had ever exposed. Or maybe everyone wanted to remain blissfully ignorant of their own inaction and the consequences of it? Aubrey shook her head. None of that mattered anymore.

She smiled as she saw Sunny’s resting face, even now all she could see is the shy boy he was all those years ago, but she knew it was different than before. He had definitely grown over the last two years both emotionally and physically. That second part upset her a bit since he had gotten an inch above her recently. Granted that did not change the fact she could easily carry his scrawny body over her shoulder, she did miss it. 

Quietly she got up from bed and threw on some grey sweatpants and a light jacket before leaving the room. The weekend chill of autumn had made its home in the hallway because of an open window. Aubrey walks over to shut it and takes a quick peak outside. The early morning rabble of people getting ready for work was a sight to behold. The man across the street swearing at his outdated junker for not working the 3rd time this week. To the woman who tripped and dropped her coffee on the ground in a rush for work. Aubrey noticed this as the woman who yelled at her over accidently putting glass in the recyclables one time and chuckled. 

Making her way towards the bathroom she notes her disheveled hair. ‘I’ll fix it after I get back.’ She thought to herself as she brushed her teeth. The minty fresh tooth paste cleansed her awful morning breath. Afterwards she made her way downstairs making sure her wallet, keys and phone were still in her jacket pocket before putting on her shoes and heading out the door. The cold nipped at her exposed hands as she closed the door behind her and started to walk towards her destination. 

Some time had passed as she made her way deeper into the city, it was about 15 minutes since she had left the house and seen the usual city dwellers. From beggars not unlike those in Faraway to corporate slaves who had clearly lost all will to live. The cold air still bit her face during her trip. Leaves crunched beneath her shoes with every step, a nostalgic sound as she recounted her memories of Faraway. Memories and feelings that were long gone but still stuck with her. Her and Kel playing with Hector and dashing through the leaves. Sunny and Basil silently watching the antics along with Hero and Mari attempting to clean the yard but eventually joining in the fun. 

‘Mari…’ a name she could never escape. Six years later and it still hurts to think about it. Her thoughts drifted to Sunny, if she felt in pain after this long she couldn’t imagine what it was like for him and Basil. Four years. Four years of emotions being bottled up and forced down inside. Even if what they did was terrible, and only magnified the pain everyone felt it does not mean they were beyond forgiveness. Before making amends with everyone she might have hated them, despised them even. But she had learned acceptance. Soon she had made it to her destination. A quaint little sandwich shop with a large banner decorated in green, red and white letters that read “Caesar’s” and headed in. 

It was quiet, some people sitting off to the sides enjoying their breakfast. The smell of coffee and different breakfast foods filled the air along with sound of the early morning news on the two TV’s propped up in the shops corners.

“Aubrey! Here early this time I see! The usual for you and your partner?” She was greeted by a very cheerful Italian man behind the counter. His brown and curly hair coupled with his bushy mustache still made for a pleasant sight for Aubrey as he had become quite the friend to her and Sunny over the year.

“Yep, wanted to get here before the morning rush hit. And he’s not my partner but how you been C?”

“Aha you keep telling me that but I see the way you two look at each other. But things have been good! I’ve even been in talks to open up another shop and have my daughter run it!” He exclaimed happily while preparing the usual for Aubrey. 

“Hey that sounds pretty good! I’m sure Mia will do a great job there.” Aubrey was happy to hear Mia being able to move up in the world. They along with Sunny had become friends at the high school. Mia even helped them land jobs at another coffee shop in the city which had proved to be an immense help after Aubrey moved in. 

“Oh yes, I’ll be sad to see her go away but alas she must spread her wings. Oh and one thing about it.” He motioned Aubrey closer and whispered to her. “She thinks it’s going to be my shop but after the building is complete, I’m going to surprise her by showing her the deed is completely hers.” He giggled as he walked back to finish the order.

“Wow that’s really generous of you, I’m guessing as a reward for her helping out for so many years?”

“Of course! When times were tough, and I had to lay people off she was there eager to cook with her pop pop. I feel as though my failure became her burden, so I want to make it right.”

‘Burden huh?’ That word hung in the air for Aubrey. Burdens are something everyone is familiar with in different degrees.

Aubrey snapped back up as Caesar wrapped up two sandwiches for her order and started to ring it up.

“Oh can you add some cookies to that too?” 

“Not a problem my dear! Don’t worry about the cookies either, on the house.” C cheerfully slid a dozen of his freshly baked cookies in the bag and pushed it towards Aubrey. The usual consisted of a packed breakfast sandwich filled with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, and hash browns. A monster of a sandwich that would make anyone’s stomach swollen with delight.

“Thanks C, you’re a really nice guy you know that?” Aubrey smiled as she slid the money towards C.

“Nonsense! I have to treat my favorite customers well don’t I?” Caesar happily accepted the money and readied her change.

“Nuh-uh not this time buddy.” Aubrey swiftly takes the bag of food and trots over to the exit. “You’re keeping the change this time and you are gonna like it. See ya next time C!” She shot finger guns over to him.

“Bwahaha! You always have a home here Aubrey! Never forget that!” Aubrey smiles as she leaves the shop and makes her way back home, Caesar’s boisterous laugh fading as the door closes behind her. She takes a peak at her phone for the time. 8:13AM. ‘I’m making pretty good time. Sunny should still be asleep.’  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had peaked out even more as it started to cross over Sunny’s eye. It fluttered open as he slowly rose from his bed. Turning over he saw the empty bed of Aubrey. This was fairly normal as she would usually be the first to get up early in the morning but Sunny wished he could see her sleeping face one more time. Shaking off the remnants of sleep he got up and walked over to the bathroom. Once inside, he took notice of the large mirror in front of himself and had to steel himself. 

Something had not made an appearing in years, at least not in the real world. It still haunted his dreams occasionally but that was managable. Fear gnawed at the back of his mind that one day he would see it again. Deciding to take a shower a bit earlier than usual, he pondered if Aubrey would be back before he finished. Normally he didn’t like to be left alone with his thoughts but it’s not like he had a choice with Aubrey being out and his mom being at work currently. 

The shower did not take long, after about 10 minutes he got out and got dressed in just some casual clothes. Black sweatpants, a dark blue shirt and his now trademark eyepatch. Did he have to deal with the stupid pirate jokes for a time? Yea, but luckily his new teachers didn’t tolerate any of that when he was still in high school. His new friends also made it a point to make sure people knew it wasn’t going to fly. Aubrey CERTAINLY made it clear to people that it wasn’t funny once she had transferred over. This made things a bit easier for him. Just as he is putting on the last piece of clothing he is startled a knock on his door.

“Hey Sunny, rise and shi- okay no I’ve used that one too many times. Time to get up!” Aubrey opened the door just as Sunny was getting his shirt on. “Oh uh sorry, should have waited before barging in like that.” Slight embarrassment appeared on Aubrey’s face but she composed herself easily. 

“Yea but that’s okay, I was just finishing up anyway.” Sunny sniffed at the air. “Hey what smells so good?” Aubrey smiled after his question and leaned against the door. 

“Well, I decided to treat us to something nice this weekend so I took a little trip to Caesar’s and got us some breakfast! I didn’t want another kitchen disaster this morning…” Only Aubrey could have found a way to make cereal catch fire. She really should have taken those cooking lessons Hero offered.

“Oh, thanks Aub. You didn’t have to.”

“Of course I did! It’s a Saturday and we have to start it off right after all! Now come on let’s eat.” She hastily grabbed Sunny’s arm but made her way downstairs carefully. She always took into account Sunny’s lack of depth perception. They arrived at the living room where she had laid out the food and two cups of orange juice for them. 

They sat next to each other on the couch as Aubrey started to flip through the channels on the TV. Local news reports on an uptick of gang violence *click*, Saturday morning cartoons for kids *click*, infomercials *click*.  
“Ugh they really don’t give anything good at this time. Got any recommendations Sun?”

“Hmmm, we could try one of those new movies my mom bought.” He got up and shifted through the DVD’s inside the cabinet holding up the TV. About a minute later he pulled one out. ‘Captain Spaceman and the Quest for his Sweetheart’.  
“Is that like, a more mature version of Spaceboy? Man I remember the old comics, can’t believe they made an animated movie of it. Pop it in I guess.” Sunny obliged and placed the DVD inside the player as Aubrey changed over to the proper input as the player whirred to life. Aubrey hastily skipped through the previews and onto the title screen which hosted various action shots of Captain Spaceman on his adventure.

“Glad to see they’re still spoiling half the movie before we even watch it.” Annoyed, Aubrey clicks play as the intro begins…  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The movie went on for a little under two hours. It had drama, action, romance, and tragedy. It was also a complete mess of a story that the two could not help but make fun of all the way through.

“Okay yea, I can understand him giving up his dreams to protect his apparent sweetheart. But AFTER she tried to kill him!? Twice!? Come on!” Aubrey exasperated her annoyance with the movie while motioning to the TV with flailing arms. Sunny chuckled lightly at the show she was giving as he started to clean up the remains of their breakfast. Aubrey proceeded to take the DVD out and place it back in its case. She tidied up the rest of the living room as she shut the TV off and walked over to the kitchen as Sunny washed the few dishes left in the sink. A pleasant lavender scent filled the air as bubbles floated from the sink. 

“So… got any more plans for today? It is still young after all.” Aubrey smirked as she put a hand on Sunny’s shoulder.

“Oh not really, maybe wallow in self-pity for a couple of hours.” Sunny’s flat expression and voice genuinely worried Aubrey until he smiled at her. “Relax I’m joking. Did you have anything you wanted to do?”

“O-oh I just thought maybe we could check out the arcade or something. You know, instead of wasting time sitting at home all damn day.”

“That doesn’t sound bad actually but just so you know, any time I spend with you isn’t wasted.” A gentle smile came upon Sunny’s face as he started to dry his hands after placing the last of the dishes on the drying rack.  
His pleasant smile, coupled with his shy but sweet voice hit all the marks for Aubrey’s brain to go into meltdown mode. She made a collection of very confused and awkward noises as she tried to recover from the wave of warmth that overcame her. Unsure if he was always such a smooth talker or just that kind, she tried to put herself together to respond. 

“I-I uhh yea I just uhh thought that getting some sun would be good is all. S-so is that a yes?” Composure did not come as easily this time, fumbled words and shaky hands gave away her real feelings. But her face? The most damning piece of evidence that Sunny’s words had hit her like a truck, her pink mane starting to blend in with her flushed face. 

“Yea, of course.” Aubrey quickly turned around and headed upstairs to try and hide her excitement.

“Great! Let me just shower real quick and we should be good to go!” She dashed up the stairs before and tried to relax after finding refuge in their room. Her heart ached, not when she recalled her childhood memories but it was a different kind of ache. Like a longing for something. Ignoring it, she snatched her towel that was hung up on the door hook and hopped into the bathroom. 

While getting undressed she looked at the multitude of cuts and scars on her body. Her time as a hooligan really did a number on her body, nothing too permanent but still they would stick with her for a while. Some of them from random scuffles with the neighborhood kids back in Faraway, some of them from fights against people bullying Sunny. But there was one that hurt a bit more than the others. Despite the years passing, the wound Sunny gave her at the park never disappeared. It seemed to have healed just fine the days after but the scar remained. Aubrey was too afraid to ask why he had a knife on him that day. Granted she did have her nailed bat on her, it was to be expected from her. But for the first time in four years Sunny comes out of his house and one of the first things he does is stab her with a knife. 

She had given up on ever bringing it to his attention anyway. The last thing she wanted was to trigger more awful memories for him so she kept it inside of her. It wasn’t important anyway, what was important is the time they spent together and what they did with it. The past stays in the past after all. ‘Man I wish I could have believed in that years ago…” she thought to herself. Her thoughts then drifted to what Sunny had said a couple of minutes ago and her face went flush yet again.  
Aubrey had been feeling this way about a year after moving in with Sunny but constantly tried to deny it. ‘There’s no way right? And even if I am… are we even in the right state of mind for it? Does he even feel the same way? I just can’t…’ Shaking off the negative thoughts she quickly finished her shower as to not keep Sunny waiting.

After drying herself off and exiting the bathroom she could hear the TV on in the living room. That tipped her off to the room likely being clear for her to get dressed in. Nonetheless she lightly knocked and slowly peered inside just to be sure. After moisturizing she decided to put on some blue jeans and a graphic tee featuring a show she had started watching recently with Sunny. Her thoughts were more focused on getting done quickly as to not waste time for their… hangout. ‘Yea we’re just hanging out after all… nothing more nothing less…’ 

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was startled by a knock at the door. 

“Hey Aub, you okay in there? Please don’t try to look under my bed again…” Aub. Every time he called her that it felt special. He might not have thought much of it but to her, it meant a lot.

“I-I’m not Sun I swear! Just making sure I didn’t forget anything.” She haphazardly grabbed both their jackets, wallets and sets of keys before opening the door.

“Come on, we’re burnin daylight!” Happily taking the lead as the two walked down the stairs. Opening the door greeted them with the familiar city air. It was certainly heavier than their peaceful little suburb of Faraway but it had become the new norm for them. After locking the door they walked down the stone steps as Aubrey took in a deep breath. “Smell that Sunny? Good ol fresh, polluted city air! Even more encouragement to get the hell inside somewhere.”

“Well uh, feel free to lead the way.” Sunny was still fairly uncomfortable with going outside unless it was to the grocery store or work. But being with one of his closest friends made it a lot easier. ‘Yea… friend right. Nothing more, nothing less…

“With pleasure!” Aubrey trotted along while keeping Sunny close to her side as they started their journey outside.


	2. Push and Shove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a morning of relaxation, Sunny and Aubrey decided to spend some time at the local arcade. But the pair are about to hit by a reminder that the past doesn't always stay in the past, no matter how much you try to keep it that way.

Autumn was Sunny’s favorite time of year, as ironic as that is considering his name. The trees slowly losing their greenish tints as they slowly fall to the oranges and yellows of the shifting seasons. It caused Sunny to recall a moment he shared with Basil during their stay in the hospital. 

They had been allowed to walk outside in the courtyard for some fresh air and Basil started to talk about the local flora to Sunny. It helped bring a sense of normalcy to their stay. He pointed out something less factual and more metaphorical when talking about a large oak that stood in the middle of the courtyard.

“Hey Sunny, you know… I’ve always admired trees.”

“Hm…?” Sunny tilts his head in confusion as Basil continues.

“Well, they’re strong. Even though they lose their luster as the seasons change, they still stay there, growing and growing until they can sprout their leaves again and show off their beauty once more.” Basil walks up to the oak and places his hand on it gently. “And I just think about how I wish I was like a tree… no matter what awful things happen to them, they always bounce back every year.”

Sunny looks up at the massive tree, silently reflecting on Basils words. 

“Sunny do you think… do you think we can be like trees? That we can come back from this?” Basil looked towards Sunny again, the all too familiar anxiety clear in his eyes once again.

“I don’t know. But I do know that we can try, this time together. All of us.” Sunny smiled softly at Basil, whose eyes started to brim over with tears as a wave of relief washes over him.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Sunny continued to walk alongside Aubrey. Despite his body still not being quite up to par in stamina, the extra height he had gained made his stride large enough to keep up with Aubrey. They made some small talk along the way to pass the time. The arcade was not too far away, after about 20 minutes of walking their destination was in sight. A wide, two story building with a bright and rainbow colored neon sign reading “Last Checkpoint”. 

The time was around 11AM and the city was busy with weekend activities, the arcade being no exception. People of all ages walked in and out of the arcade, some with disappointed faces and others smiling happily with colorful but cheap plastic toys. Either way the place was clearly busy and a hotspot for the early Saturday afternoon. 

Aubrey ushered Sunny in and they walked through the front door.

“And here we are. The place where every day scores are crushed, dreams are shattered, and at least three people try to say the coin machine ate their money.” Aubrey waved a hand over to the arcade and let Sunny bask in the various smells and sounds of bright and flashing landscape. Bleeps, screeches and voices rang out all around, the clattering of change machines and arcade cabinates taking in quarters. Many kinds of junk food could be smelled such as chicken tenders, popcorn, and hotdogs. This was truly a paradise for any kid and teen, or even those who are older and wanted to relive those days.

“Come on Sun, let’s load up on quarters and get to work.” Aubrey guided Sunny through the throng of people and towards the change machine.

“What are we working for?” Sunny questioned as Aubrey started to slide singles and five dollar bills into the machine, the quarters clattering as she explained her goal.

“Well, today we’re gonna go for the big one!” She pointed towards the top of the prize stand. Various trinkets and baubles decorated the stand. All very cheap and fragile, but the prize she was pointing to was different. 

At first one would assume it is just a random piece of paper but upon closer inspection it is revealed to be a voucher for a weekend stay at a resort outside of town called "Found Paradise". Sunny recognized the name as a resort few could ever hope to even have a chance at a reservation. This voucher provided all expenses paid for two people was very tantalizing for many, however there was a catch related to the tickets needed to which Aubrey explained to Sunny. 

“All the tickets for each day have a unique code tied to that day. The top prizes must be paid for in tickets that were earned that day. It’s actually pretty smart because it pressures people into throwing all their money at the hope of getting the bigger prize.” Aubrey was going quite off on the inner workings and mentality of the way the prizes were set up.

She went on to explain how people would try to form groups to band together and earn tickets but they would always fall apart in the end since the prizes are usually single items that can’t really be shared. Sunny enjoyed watching her rant and rave about the evil genius of the design and how she wanted to be one of the few to break through it. 

“And I finally have a plan to win the big one. Wanna know what it is?” Aubrey smiled slyly. Sunny did wonder to himself what the plan was. A less than legal way to get free tickets from the machines? Maybe a game they could tag team to earn easy tickets? “It’s gambling!”  
‘Oh Aubrey, always so sweet and sometimes so simple.’ Sunny mused to himself as she went into more detail. 

“Alright so there is one game here that makes or breaks the whole plan. It’s called Gamblers Gambit. First, crappy name I know, but how it works is that basically, there are four seats and everyone puts in a matching number of tickets although you can go over. Once the four spots are filled and the bets are placed, everyone ready’s their air gun and after a couple of seconds a four-sided target drops down with five rings and a point at the center. Everyone gets one shot to hit a point in the target and the first person to hit a bullseye instantly wins everyone else’s tickets." 

Sunny nodded to confirm he was following as Aubrey continued. 

"There are other spots to hit, the two rings closest to the bullseye make it so you don’t lose any tickets as long as nobody else hits a bullseye. Anything past those two rings is counted as a miss. If everyone misses, then the tickets are lost and not given to anyone. If we can crack the game and keep on winning, then the big one is as good as ours!”

Sunny listened intently to Aubrey’s plan and nodded along. She further explained that they would play other, easier games to build up tickets to bet with. There was one question on Sunny’s mind, however.  
“But who is gonna shoot? We’ve only played with water guns as kids…”

“Oh that part is easy, I’ve been practicing a ton for this moment.” Aubrey’ face turned smug as she got ready to show off her skills to Sunny. 

“But first things first, we need tickets. Sun were you ever good at any specific games?” Sunny thought to himself for a moment before responding.

“Well I did really like playing skeeball with Mari as a kid.”

“Perfect, they’re actually pretty close by. Now we’ll split up for a bit, get as many tickets as we can in around three hours and we meet back at the Gambit.” Aubrey quickly handed Sunny a large bag of quarters along with a large sac for his tickets as she started to run to the upstairs section.

“But I thought we were gonna…” Sunny’s voice trailed off as Aubrey disappeared into the crowd. ‘I thought we were gonna be together the whole time…’ While disappointed, he wanted to make her dream a reality. On the other hand he also wanted to practice being in crowds more since it was not the usual for him. With that he quickly got to work finding the skeeball machines.  
_____________________________________________________________________

Aubrey had been working on various games around the arcade, her own sac being filled to the brim with tickets. She wipes some sweat off her brow and collected her tickets after finishing a round of Whack-a-Sprout Mole. Checking her phone for the time once again she notices it’s been about an hour. It read 2:04PM so she decides to start looking around for Sunny. Next to her was a wide opening on the second floor that loomed over the first floor and allowed a clear view of the area below. 

‘Hmmmmm, gonna be kinda hard to pick Sunny out of all these people here.’ She kept looking around for a minute before being interrupted by a familiar and unwelcome voice.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the bitch with the bubblegum hair!” Before Aubrey stood a man about her height. He was flanked by two others, another man, and a woman each of similar heights as well. Aubrey immediately recognized the voice in front of her as it rang in her ears like nails on a chalkboard. Her eye twitched at the hair comment but she snapped back calmly.

“Oh, fancy meeting you here Raph, did you get the day off from the plant store because they already had too many pricks?” 

“Haha, you’re so damn funny aren’t you?” The two behind Raph stifled their laughs until he shot them a glare to which they stopped. He had short, blonde hair, brown eyes and fairly pale skin. He wore a grey jacket with tattered black jeans and a pair of black shoes. He reminded her of Mikhael with his wig but at least Mikhael had some redeeming qualities. 

“Yea I am, I’m also busy so you can piss off now. By the way none of the prizes are hole less pants so sadly you have to look somewhere else.” She started to walk away from the group until the woman spoke up.

“So you’re just walking away just like that? Can’t you all at least talk about it?”

“Not repeating myself Bri, you three ain’t worth it.” Aubrey then dismisses the brunette who called out. She had similar skin color to Raph but she was a bit more well dressed. Her lip and nose piercings stood out as the silver of them shone brightly from the various neon lights in the arcade.

“But that scrawny little shit you walked in with is?” Finally, the other man responded, and Aubrey was not happy about it. 

“That ‘scrawny little shit’ you’re talking about has a name, Sunny. He’s also twice the man you could ever hope to be Adrian. So watch your goddamn mouth when you talk about him.” Aubrey was visibly angry now. Even after high school these low lives could not stop harassing him. 

“Awww it looks like I struck a nerve. Does it hurt to hear us make fun of your little pira-” Adrian was cut off as he took a fake hammer to the jaw courtesy of the Whack-A-Sprout-Mole Aubrey had ripped it from. He fell onto the ground in a heap. Aubrey knew this was going to cause a scene, but she did not care. She had to teach them a lesson yet again. People started to encircle the group after hearing the commotion.

“Awww looks like I struck you in the face, does it hurt?” She put on the most mocking tone she could muster and stared at the other two. “So, we still have a problem or not?” 

“You fuckin bet we do.” Raph started to approach, against Bri’s protests who instead opted to try and wake up the now unconscious Adrian. 

“Glad we agree on one thing then.” Aubrey tossed away the hammer she had torn from the machine and readied her fists.  
_______________________________________________________________

Sunny nervously shuffled around his way through the other arcade goers. Crowds were still not his forte but he wanted to become more accustomed to them. He had noticed the time was 2:08PM and was searching for Aubrey as to not miss their set deadline. Figuring she would still be upstairs, he headed up and noticed a large commotion coming from his left. A mix of shouts, cheers and even some groans came from there and piqued his curiosity. Once again, he tried to squeeze through the masses and managed to finally get a look of the inner side of the circle. It was then that he got a clear view of the Aubrey he remembered from two years ago.

A man was on the ground, trying to defend from the barrage of punches Aubrey threw at his head over and over as she pinned him down with her own body. The look on her face was very familiar. Sunny remembers the fight he and Kel had against her in the church. He also noticed the target of her aggression and knew exactly what was going on. The group that had terrorized him in high school when he transferred over, he could not soon forget. 

It was only a month after the move when he was still very much in the readjustment period and dealing with the aftermath from his confession. Their torment had only worsened his already fragile mental state, but he did not succumb. Teachers and acquaintances did a decent enough job of making him feel welcome and many of the mean-spirited kids stopped messing with him within a week or two. Adrian was much like the other kids, except his taunts continued longer than usual and mostly behind Sunny's back. Bri never directly insulted Sunny but was complacent in her friends actions. Raph though… it was if he had a personal vendetta against Sunny. 

Raph went out of his way to make opportunities to harass Sunny. Whether it be by going to the bathroom at the same time or trying to follow him home, Raph was determined to make life even more hellish for Sunny. That is until Aubrey showed up.  
All it took was one day, seeing Raph push Sunny up against a set of lockers with a raised fist. That day, Raph and the entire school learned of the wrath of Aubrey. She ended up taking a week of detention for it, but it was completely worth it to see Sunny become much more relaxed at during school and at home.

The situation still unfolding in front of him, he used all his strength to break through the crowd and desperately ran to his friend. 

“A-Aubrey! Calm down!” With every punch thrown he could hear Aubrey pant as she exhausted herself. She must have been at this for a while. He placed a hand on her shoulder which caused her to look directly into his eyes with her old, hatred filled gaze. A gaze that immediately turned to shock.

“Sunny!? When did you get up here!?” While distracted, Raph managed to shove Aubrey off him, causing her to fall on her bottom. Shakily, he walked over to Bri and Adrian who had finally started to wake up.

“Listen Raph, we need to go! Why did you have to go and pick a fight with her?”

“None of this would have happened if Adrian kept his fucking mouth shut! Let’s go already.” Raph then turned back to Aubrey. His bruised face contorted into a look of hatred at the pair. “Watch your back bubblegum bitch, the streets are a helluva lot rougher than you think.” He and Bri helped Adrian to his feet and they shoved their way through the crowd. 

Sunny looked towards his pink haired defender. She looked fairly unhurt, a couple of scratches, some small bruises on her arms but nothing permanent. He was grateful for that.

“Sorry for making you worry Sun, I should have just walked away but they were really shooting for a fight again.” Aubrey looked away, she knew Sunny didn’t like seeing her like that but she didn’t want them think they could get away with talking about him like that. She figured Sunny would be disappointed at her or even upset, but was extremely surprised when he got low to the ground and gripped her in a tight hug as she sat.

“I’m just… glad you didn’t get too hurt.” Once again, Aubrey’s brain was in meltdown mode and its cooling system was non-functioning. She stood there silently for a couple of seconds before Sunny let go allowing herself to recover.

“Come on, let’s go before-” He was cut off by a loud grunt of a large man in a generic shirt labeled ‘Security’. The man was over six feet tall, bald and had the makings of a professional running back. 

“Holy hell dude, you’re built like a bulldozer!” Sunny quickly covered her mouth and looked at the guard, noticing a name tag that said ‘Bill’.

“Sh-she means that in a good way! I’m think!”

“Yea I did! Like uh, you ever played football? I bet you’d kick ass.” 

“I did, they called me ‘too intense’. Whatever that means.” Using his massive strength he used each hand to pick the two up off the ground separately. “Now I’m the one stopping kids like you and adults from causing too much trouble. I’m afraid you have to leave for the day.” Bill was expressionless and oddly gentle as well.

“Wait what!? They had it coming though trust me! They used to harass us in school every chance they got.” Aubrey pleaded with the man.

“I understand that, but that doesn’t mean you can stir up trouble in the middle of the arcade like that. You aren’t banned or anything, you just have to leave for the day.”

“Alright, alright, fine. I’ll go but can he stay?” Aubrey motioned towards Sunny. “It was completely on me, he was even the one who stopped me. That sounds fair right?” After making her case, Bill pondered for a couple of seconds before giving his answer.

“Fair enough, you were and those three were the main concern anyway. Now come along.” Bill motioned Aubrey to follow him which she did, but not before thrusting her sac of tickets and quarters to Sunny.

“I’ll be waiting outside! I believe in you!” The smile she shot towards Sunny ignited something within him, he needed to win something for her, no matter what. As her flowing pink hair faded into the crowd he looked towards the next destination, Gamblers Gambit. With newfound confidence and tickets, he journeyed over to the machine.  
________________________________________________________

Aubrey lazily laid on a bench outside of the arcade. The air was a bit chillier than before but her outfit, paired with the residual heat from the arcade were sufficient enough to keep her warm. Bill said it was alright for her to wait outside for Sunny but to keep it outside. At the very least he seemed like a decent and understanding guy. She took another peak at her phone for the time. 4:21PM. It was a while since she got split from Sunny and became more and more bothered the longer they were apart. 

‘Come on Aubrey what’s up with you lately? You're never this fidgety. Get it together he’ll be fine…’ Aubrey thought to herself, but that only psyched herself out more. Another glance towards the door revealed a small amount of people leaving, Sunny not among them. The more people that went out, the more she considered just taking a peak inside to find her target.

Just when she was ready to go inside and get into even more trouble, a familiar face was found at the entrance. Sunny had finally emerged from the arcade, exhaustion looking like it had a tight grip on him.  
“Sun! So uh… how did it go?” He didn’t look particularly pleased or distraught so it was hard to gain a read on what had happened.

“Well, it was something that’s for sure... For starters I kinda lost all the tickets you gave me right after you left…” Aubrey’s cyan eyes went wide but she didn’t say anything. The old her would have probably flipped her lid a little, but she was different now. Unless it was Kel telling her this, then it would probably have been time for more violence.

“But I didn’t come out empty handed! I’m sorry for making you wait so long, I wanted to make sure this whole day wasn’t for nothing so I went back to earn more tickets.” Sunny shuffled in the bag for a bit and pulled out a slip of paper. Aubrey slowly started to read it as he explained what it was. “This is a delivery slip for a King sized bed they had for one of the prizes. The brand is supposed to be really good and help with deep sleep.”

“A bed? I mean, I know you said you were starting to outgrow your old one so it makes sense.” Aubrey was confused but maybe Sunny was more right in getting something practical rather than a short-lived resort trip.

“Well yea, but I was more worried about you being stuck on a futon for so long.” She listened to his words as the cogs in her brain started to turn. “I mean it is a pretty big bed too. I don’t know if we can fit that and the futon in my room so… we might have to…” Sunny trailed off as his face turned a couple of shades redder.

“Might have to what?” It took a few seconds for Aubrey to register what he was implying. Then it hit her enough to also turn her face a few shades redder. “O-oh you mean s-sleep to-together? That is a okay! W-we did that as kids all the time!”  
‘No way, he has to be doing this on purpose right? This is probably to pay me back for covering his back in high school right? He’s just a nice guy in general yea!’ 

“Y-yea just like when we were kids! It’s even large enough for us to be decently apart!” He looked down at the ground while awkwardly shuffling his feet, unsure of how to continue the conversation and unsure why he was so nervous. “Oh, but that wasn’t the only thing I got.” He rummaged through the sac one more time and pulled out a small felt box. “H-here!” he quickly stammered while handing it to Aubrey. “I had some leftover tickets and the guy at the counter said it would be a nice gift to a friend or loved one.” Sunny was confused at his own attitude. He had done things for Aubrey before including gifts outside the holidays. But the more time they spent together the more he felt a burning pain in his heart. 

She removed the from the quaking hands of Sunny and opened it. Inside was a silver locket with a tiny silver heart about one inch wide. A button on the side of the heart split it and revealed two sections for heart shaped pictures. 

"Sunny... I..." Aubrey looked in awe at the gift and started to think about the past year she spent with him.

Remembering all the times she risked her own health many times over for Sunny’s sake. From dealing with any bullies he encountered, making sure he was eating right, even that one time she ran out into a massive thunderstorm for over an hour to pick up medicine for him after his mom’s car broke down. Constantly throwing caution to the wind for him has been her default ever since she moved in. It was only now that she finally came to a conclusion. The one she had doubted for many years.

She was in love with Sunny.

But one question rang in her mind.

'Does he love me back?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea I totally made mechanics to a game that I never even planned on writing a scene for. Expectations subverted babyyyyyy. I think I'm comfortable with how this chapter came out. I expected to write around 3k words a chapter and then I kinda went off with this one a little... oh well. Slow burn is also great because I get to make convoluted plots and kill people with anticipation while they wait for the big scene to happen. Plus it results in even more Sunburn content to write so overall a win win situation. Anyway I hope this chapter lives up to peoples expecations/wants and maybe, just maybe, even exceeds them.

**Author's Note:**

> Man I have not written a fic in forever, let along posted it for all to see my horrific writing. But I need to indulge in being part of the Sunburn cult so screw it, why not. Updates are gonna be sporadic because of life. Goal is to get a chapter out weekly, maybe sooner if I get inspired enough. Story will be mostly fluff with some angst and drama sprinkled in for spice. Hope everyone enjoys reading. Whether it's from genuinely enjoying the story, to laughing at the atrocious writing I hope to make your day a little bit brighter.


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